So I'm job hunting now and have been forced to reflect on my teaching philosophy and artist statement. So here is a simple manifesto of what art is to me and how I approach teaching it learning it and doing it.
1. Art is communication.
2. Art is symbolic language.
3. Art is a process.
4. Art is seeing.
5. Art is mimicking.
6. Art is discovering.
7. Art is making/creating.
8. Art is change.
9. Art is Doing.
Structured and approached in this way...
1. Communication:
Intention. Expressing "the Dream." Contains intellectual, emotional, psychological and/or spiritual meaning.
2. Symbolic Language:
Common ground between creator and viewer. A consistent structure. Translatable content.meaning.
3. Process:
A format showing an understanding of structure. An approach and command of composition. An application of technique according to desired outcome. Something repeatable?
4. Seeing:
Our common visual language is our shared visual experience. The discovery of meaning in observation. Always beginning with the big picture. Working to understand what is seen from General to Specific.
5. Mimicking:
As an academic venture it demands the study of past techniques, themes, styles, and formulas. No reason to recreate the wheel or retread over a solved problem.
6. Discovering:
It is a process of self study. The artist works to find their own capabilities and limitations to discover a way to do what the artist wants to be able to do. The artist is always learning and is dedicated to repetition and research to know what to keep and what to throw away. In this journey the artist discovers or creates a Style.
7. Making/Creating:
A finished product. A body of work. To show stages of growth.
8. Change
Mastering known techniques. Understanding and improving flaws in work. Finding new Themes. Abandoning what is unnecessary.
9. Doing!
Self-explanatory.
Ultimately the job of the artist is to create a body of work. The task of the artist educator is to guide the student artist working with the expectations of the teacher and admirers into the realm of intention. Evolving from the simple need to satisfy the desires and needs of others to commanding ones own talents and skills to satisfy the self without compromising craftsmanship.
